Kansas State University officials say a multi million-dollar award from the U.S. Agency for International Development will support work by researchers on multiple continents to make agriculture more resilient to varying management practices, climates and extreme weather events.
The university was selected as the management entity for the Climate Resilient Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab, or CRSIIL, as part of USAID’s Feed the Future program, with funding of up to $50 million over the next five years.
Feed the Future Deputy Coordinator for Development Dina Esposito announced the award during the recent World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa.
“The Feed the Future innovation lab network, including these newly funded labs, will advance technology development and draw on the expertise of top U.S. universities and host country research institutions to tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges in agriculture and food security,” said Esposito, who is also assistant to the administrator for the Bureau for Resilience, Environment, and Food Security at USAID.
She added: “The Climate Resilient Sustainable Intensification lab led by Kansas State University will conduct research to develop and adapt technologies that increase agricultural productivity on less land with fewer environmental tradeoffs.”
Vara Prasad, the lab’s director, university distinguished professor and the R.O. Kruse endowed professor in K-State’s agronomy department, said the new project continues the work managed during the past 10 years by K-State’s Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab, or SIIL, a $75 million project that he also led. The new project, he said, includes an emphasis on climate resilience in crops.
Sustainable intensification is a term that represents researchers’ work to develop methods and technologies that increase agricultural yields without negative environmental impacts, or cultivating more land.
Funding for the previous SIIL ended earlier this year. The new award is for five years, at which time Prasad said it could be renewed for an additional $50 million and five years, based on the progress and availability of funds. All told, K-State’s support from USAID to study sustainable intensification over a 20-year period could top $175 million.
“I think what this new award shows is USAID’s trust in Kansas State University, as well as our commitment to our program and what we are capable of doing,” Prasad said.
K-State will lead a project with partners in eight countries: Cambodia, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Senegal, Ghana, Guatemala and Honduras. Prasad said work in these countries will serve as “test beds” for discoveries that can be applied around the world, including Kansas and the United States.
The partnership includes forming a Digital and Decision Agriculture consortium to develop improved tools to assist farmers in the U.S. and partner countries, “to become more efficient, productive, profitable and equitable,” according to Prasad.
He said American and international researchers don’t need to look any further than Kansas to see the value of this work. The state’s agricultural economy thrives despite a wide range of variables between the eastern and western borders, including temperature, rainfall, soil, weather and more.
“When it comes to resilience in farming, Kansas is the place,” Prasad said. “So what we learn from other countries is going to be extremely valuable for Kansas and other places around the country and world.”
Prasad said CRSIIL’s work focuses on five areas:
• Climate adaptation, mitigation and resilience
• Improved use of resources and input use efficiency
• Soil fertility management and soil health
• Ecological intensification and nature-positive solutions
• A circular bio-economy and use of renewables
K-State President Richard Linton hailed the award, saying the work that will be done over five years symbolizes the university’s goal to become a next-generation land-grant university.
“This international project represents one of the largest and most collaborative research grants in the history of K-State. It builds on our strengths in research innovation and affirms our global reputation for excellence in agricultural and food systems,” Linton said. “Being recognized worldwide enhances our position as a next-generation land-grant university.”
Ernie Minton, the Eldon Gideon dean of K-State’s College of Agriculture and director of K-State Research and Extension, said he’s “immensely proud of the dedication and innovation of Prasad’s team in earning this prestigious grant award.”
“It underscores our commitment to advancing agricultural research and addressing the most difficult challenges within the global food system,” Minton said. “This work will produce significant global impacts and greatly benefit Kansas by enhancing our knowledge of climate-resilient agricultural practices that improve productivity and sustainability.”
Prasad, who led the successful application to land the multimillion-dollar award, said he received key support from SIIL, including Jan Middendorf, associate director, Beth Guertal, research director, and Ignacio Ciampitti, agronomy professor; as well as support staff members Jessica Means, Kinzey Cott, Layne Davis, Emma Flemmig, Araya Berhe and Dawn Caldwell.
Nina Lilja, associate dean for international programs in K-State’s College of Agriculture, also provided key support, he said.
According to Prasad, the team’s past work with SIIL over the last 10 years — in combination with U.S. and foreign partners — supported as many as 120 organizations, 150 researchers, 275 students and 40,000 farmers. The indirect impact will be much larger than that.
But, Prasad added, “it’s not about the numbers.”
“This work is about individuals, meaning lives and livelihoods,” he said. “Imagine these 275 students five years from now, or 10 years from now, and how many lives they are going to touch. More importantly, when somebody’s life changes because of work you do, you can’t put an economic value on that.”
“That’s why I’m very passionate about doing this work. If it was just about numbers, we could reach those numbers, but it’s not just a check mark for us. We want to make a positive impact, change the lives of people and then make sure it’s done right so that they also develop the passion to help others.”
K-State’s work through CRSIIL begins this fall and will continue through 2029.
